Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 36

Silence hangs in the air as my shoes click against the floor, Stephen's gentle footsteps echoing beside me. Looking down, I squeeze Stephens hand tighter before closing my eyes, taking a deep breath and pushing the door in front on me open. As I step through, everyone's eyes turn to me and Stephen. At the end of the table, Sirius clears his throat before he shuffles in his seat when he notices Stephen by my side.

"You're back." points out Harry from his seat at the centre of the table, breaking the awkward silence that hangs in the air. His gentle smile causes guilt to build in my chest as I close my eyes and take a deep breath, Stephens hand squeezing mine reassuringly.

"Yes but we're not staying." I confess as I open my eyes again and begin walking around the table to where I sat before. Pulling my bag from over the back of the chair, I sling it over my shoulder before turning to see everyone's confused eyes.

"You're not?" asks Remus slowly as he glances back and forth between me and Stephen, his brows furrowing more and more with each glance.

"We're not?" repeats Thor, his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide as he stares at me. I can just tell he's judging me. Or rather, judging my decisions.

"No we're not." I agree, turning to where Tony is sat, coffee in his hand, relaxing. As soon as I narrow my eyes at him he moves, slamming the cup down in the table as he scarlets to his feet, the rest of the team copying him. Good to know I'm still as intimidating as I used to be.

"What do you mean you're not staying?" asks Sirius gently as he stands up from his seat, his hands spreading across the wooden table in front of him as he leans forwards.

"Well it's not like you want us here is it?" Stephen blurts out sarcastically as he glares at Sirius who just glared back. Ugh, men. They're so... competitive? I think that's the right word for it. "Well you want Abi here but that's it." he continues, each word more bitter that the next as his death glare grows deeper.

"I'm starting to think Abi has a type." point out Thor as he chuckles to himself, glancing at Stephen and nodding before he glances at Sirius. What on earth made him say that?

"I do not!" I shout, my voice high pitched as the room falls into silence again. Each individual turning to face me as I narrow my eyes at Thor. I don't know what he's trying to do but I suggest he stops before my patience is pushed to the limit.

"They're both wizards, both sarcastic, stubborn and have a huge ego." Thor explains as he shrugs his shoulder, Loki nodding in agreement beside him. Oh, those two are really getting on my nerves recently.

"Can we just get back to the more serious matter please?" I grunt, giving them both a quick glare before I turn back to where Harry is looking at me quizzically. He opens his mouth to say anything only, no sound comes out. Closing it again, he takes a deep breath, pouts his lips slightly and narrows his eyes. What's he doing? Is he... trying to intimidate me?

"I thought the multiverse was in trouble or something like that so you needed us." Harry states, his voice judging as his narrow eyes remain locked on me. He's definitely trying to do something.

"To be honest Harry, I think they'll be better off without us." confesses the ginger boy in the back corner of the room as he stuffs his face with more cake. Ronald Weasley. "We're not really experienced at fighting gods and goddesses are we?" he mumbles as Hermione rolls her eyes next to him at his hunger.

"Abi can I speak to you outside for a minute?" asks Sirius gently as he gestures to the door that leads to the hallway. Glancing to my left, I notice Stephens muscles tense slightly as Sirius heads out the door.

"Yeah sure." I agree as I walk across to where Stephen stands, gently placing my hand on his arm as I stop in front of him. "You can relax, nothings going to happen." I whisper as his muscles relax slightly, the breath he was holding in releasing as I step out the door.

"Please tell me you're not going where I think you are." Sirius whispers as soon as I pull the door closed. Turning around to face him, I raise my eyebrows at him, crossing my arms as I look him up and down. Does he really think he's going to change my mind?

"Yes we are." I state, my voice calm and emotionless as I remain fixed, my eyes looking down on him as he shakes his head. Stepping backwards, Sirius places his palm to his face, rubbing his forehead as though he's nursing a headache.

"Is that really the best idea?" he asks as he looks up at me from behind his hand which is still rubbing his head. Has he actually got a headache or am I just giving him one? "Have you even thought this through? You're taking a huge risk going there."

"If I don't stop Hela and my father then they're going to snap half the world from existence." I hiss, my eyes welling up with tears as I step closer to Sirius, my jaw locked. My patience is wearing thin. If people don't stop telling me what's good and what's not good for me then I'm seriously going to snap. And trust me, it's not going to be pretty when I do. "She could snap Stephen from existence Sirius." I admit, turning away from him and stepping towards the door as I place a hand against its blackened wood, imagining Stephen doing the same on the other side. "I can't let that happen, I just can't."

"What's even going on between you and the wizard?" Sirius asks as I wipe my eyes with my sleeves, fighting against the urge to breakdown right here. I can't let them see my weakness.

"He's a sorcerer."

"That's just a wizard without a hat." Sirius chuckles as I turn to face him, sighing as I look down at the smile.

"He's changes my life Sirius." I mumble as my eyes fix in a spot on the carpet where it's started to come up. "I met him when I was going through a dark place and he pulled me back into the light." Tears find their way into my eyes again as I bite my tongue and hold my breath. I. Will. Not. Cry.

"So he's really worth risking your life?" he questions gently as he studies my expression carefully. Looking up at him, I swallow hard and take a deep breath, careful to disguise the pain in my voice as I speak.

"He is my life Sirius." I admit, my voice shaking slightly but not breaking. Closing my eyes, I smile to myself as a tear manages to escape the barrier of my eyelid, dripping form my eyelash and onto my cheek. "Without him...I have nothing left."